Raptors at Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are trying to lock up a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but are struggling through a tough portion of the schedule with losses in three of the last four games - all against playoff teams. The Nets will face another team that already punched its ticket to the playoffs when they host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Brooklyn, which would start the postseason at the second-seeded Raptors if the season ended now, sits seventh in the East but is only one game ahead of ninth-place Orlando and a half-game clear of eighth-place Miami while sitting a half-game behind sixth-place Detroit in a tightly-packed race. "Yeah, that definitely helps us," Nets guard Caris LeVert told reporters about the Pistons, Heat and Magic also losing on Monday. "I'm not going to lie and say we didn't look at that. We've just got to focus on ourselves and get as many wins as we can." Toronto is tuning up for the postseason with wins in its last four games and is managing to still find the win column without extending any of its players. No starter logged more that 28 minutes in Monday's 121-109 home win over the Magic and the Raptors will continue to monitor minutes throughout the remainder of the regular season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS2 (Toronto), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (55-23): Toronto shooting guard Danny Green only needed 28 minutes to score a season-high 29 points while going 11-of-15 from the floor, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range, on Monday. Green, who suffered a jammed thumb in the win and had X-rays come back negative, is 16-of-23 from beyond the arc over the last four games. The Raptors got another solid game on Monday from the center duo of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, who combined for 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting (3-of-4 from beyond the arc) and 10 rebounds in the win.
ABOUT THE NETS (39-39): Brooklyn dropped a 131-121 decision to the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks on Monday but got an encouraging performance off the bench from LeVert, who scored 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting in his best game since missing nearly three months with a foot injury. "It was his best game," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "From a confidence level and a physical level, that was the Caris from the beginning of the year. I loved how athletic he looked and how fast he looked. We stuck with him. He performed at a high level, and that bodes well for us going forward." Brooklyn will only play postseason contenders the rest of the way, with a two-game trip to Milwaukee and Indiana following Wednesday's home game and a home date against the Miami Heat to end the regular season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors SF OG Anunoby (concussion) missed the last three games and his return date is uncertain.
2. Nets SF Joe Harris is 12-of-18 from 3-point range over the last three games.
3. The home team took each of the first three meetings, with Brooklyn edging Toronto 106-105 in overtime at home on Dec. 7.